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Twiplomacy in the Age of Donald Trump: Is the Diplomatic Code Changing?

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Twiplomacy in the Age of Donald Trump: Is the Diplomatic Code Changing? View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Middlesex University Research Repository Twiplomacy in the age of Donald Trump: Is the diplomatic code changing? Maja Šimunjak and Alessandro Caliandro Department of Media, Middlesex University London, London, United Kingdom CONTACT INFORMATION Maja Šimunjak, Department of Media, Middlesex University London, The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4 4BT, United Kingdom, EMAIL: [email protected] ABTRACT This study employs digital methods in conjunction with traditional content and discourse analyses to explore how the US President Donald Trump conducts diplomacy on Twitter and how, if at all, diplomatic entities around the world engage in diplomatic exchanges with him. The results confirm speculations that Trump’s diplomatic communication on Twitter disrupts traditional codes of diplomatic language but show little evidence that new codes of diplomatic interactions on social media are being constructed, given that other diplomatic entities around the world mostly remain within the confines of traditional notions of diplomacy in (not) communicating with Trump on Twitter. Keywords: Twitter; social media; diplomacy; digital methods; United States; Donald Trump. 1 The US President Donald Trump’s naming and shaming of several world leaders and countries on Twitter as soon as he took office in January 2017 received considerable media attention (Apps 2016; Crowley, McCaskill, and Nelson 2017; Dejevsky 2017; Huang 2017; Tremonti 2016), with a wide range of commentators expressing concern over newly elected president’s diplomatic practices on social media. Commenting on Trump’s “Twitter diplomacy,” Dejevsky (2017, n.p.) claims that Trump “has earned almost universal disapproval from the political and especially the diplomatic establishments, which regard such heedless commentary as, first, ill-advised in the extreme and, second, plain crass.” Indeed, his diplomatic practices on Twitter have been criticised by political actors at home (Crowley, McCaskill, and Nelson 2017) and abroad (Huang 2017). Most notably, China reacted to Trump’s negative comments on Twitter in an article published by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua titled “Addiction to Twitter diplomacy is unwise,” in which it emphasised that tweeting is not a suitable way for conducting diplomacy (Huang 2017). According to Tremonti (2016), with Trump’s Twitter practices, diplomacy is “entering an unprecedented, unpredictable, and extremely high-stakes era” (n.p.; see also Apps 2016). While these are valuable observations, Trump’s diplomatic practices on social media have not been systematically studied; hence many assessments are based on anecdotal evidence. Consequently, to what extent is Trump using social media for diplomatic purposes, how is he conducting diplomacy on social media, and who, if at all, is engaging him on social media, remains largely speculative. We empirically address these questions in this article and also the more fundamental question whether or not Twitter practices are catalysing the development of a new code for diplomatic communication on social media. The article proceeds as follows. We first discuss existing literature on diplomacy as communication and studies focusing specifically on social media and Trump’s Twitter use. 2 We thereafter describe our methodology, which combines Digital Methods (DM) approach with traditional techniques of analysis, such as content analysis and discourse analysis. Lastly, we present our findings, analysis, and conclusions. Diplomacy as communication Broadly, diplomacy can be conceptualised as an instrument of policy or a means of communication (Sharp 2001). We look at diplomacy as a means of communication. From this perspective, language is considered to be the dominant medium of diplomacy (Rana 2001), and diplomats’ words are often seen as their actions (Pascual 2001). Also, following Wong (2016) and Poguntke and Webb (2005), we consider “diplomats” as not only those who have been formally delegated the duties of diplomacy (e.g. foreign ministers, ambassadors), but also political leaders who are increasingly important as representatives and negotiators in the international arena. While a comprehensive overview of main characteristics of diplomatic language is lacking in the literature, scholars have emphasized following characteristics of diplomatic language: 1. Diplomatic language should be courteous, marked by respect for and consideration of others (Jönsson and Hall 2005). In effect, there is no space for insults, uncivil wording, naming, and shaming. 2. Diplomatic language should be constructive and positive. Diplomats in their communication should be careful not to appear superior, indifferent, 3 controlling or offensive towards other actors in international relations (Jönsson and Hall 2005; Park and Lim 2014; Strauss, Kruikemeier, Meulen, and Noort 2015). 3. Diplomatic communication should be balanced and moderate. It should not be dramatic, especially in high stake situations (Nick 2001). 4. Diplomatic language should be ambiguous. It is often indirect and uses hedges, which makes it appear vague and open to interpretations. Such ambiguity serves several purposes in diplomacy, e.g. retaining flexibility in negotiations, making claims deniable, and being able to speak to multiple audiences (Jönsson and Hall 2005). These characteristics are considered part of the diplomatic code, which guides interactions between diplomats. Given the importance and delicateness of interactions between diplomats, great deal of thought goes into crafting diplomatic language. According to Pascual (2001), diplomatic communications need to be “deliberate, masterful, carefully and prudently drawn up” (230-31). While the ways in which diplomats communicate and engage in dialogue with other actors is considered crucial in diplomacy, scholars and practitioners alike emphasize that what is said in diplomatic communication is as important as what is left unsaid (Jönsson and Hall 2005; Pascual 2001). In other words, omission of information in a diplomatic dialogue is an action in itself, which sends messages to other actors in the same way as information that has been communicated. The same can be said for a lack of response and engagement in a 4 dialogue. In other words, if one party in a diplomatic relation does not engage in a dialogue initiated by another party, this lack of response is interpreted as deliberate and strategic, and an action in itself. Hence, in diplomatic communication, both behaviour and non-behaviour are seen to constitute messages. Social media diplomacy Writing at the beginning of the 2010s, Stein (2011, 114) declared: “all governments are facing an urgent need, partly driven by the emergence of new technologies and social media, to update their diplomatic instruments.” Several years later, Twitter positioned itself as the “ultimate channel for digital diplomacy for world leaders and governments.” Reportedly almost 180 world leaders and governments are using it for communicating with their peers and publics (Lüfkens 2017). Existing research on the use of social media in diplomacy has mostly focused on how social media is used for public diplomacy (i.e., relationships between nation-states and foreign publics), and on the practices of diplomatic institutions such as ministries for foreign affairs and embassies (Bjola and Holmes 2015; Cassidy and Manor 2016; Cull 2011; Zhong and Lu 2013; Strauss et al. 2015). Here social media is often seen as allowing for the development of a more open and collaborative model of diplomacy. Correspondingly, it is often said that social media requires diplomats to engage in a more personalised and interactive way with their audiences. However, there is debate on both the extent of influence of social media on diplomatic communication and the extent of influence that the social media is having on developments in diplomatic practice (Bjola and Holmes 2015; Hocking and Mellisen 2015; Zhong and Lu 2013). In fact, there is research showing that diplomatic entities on social media rarely meet expectations of social media diplomacy, i.e., 5 they tend not to focus on interaction, networking, and openness (Cassidy and Manor 2016; Strauss et al. 2015). Overall, existing research in social media diplomacy has two important limitations. First, it overly focuses on public diplomacy, almost completely ignoring government-to- government social media diplomacy (G-2-G). A rare exception is Cassidy and Manor (2016), which debunks social media diplomacy myths, but even here, G-2-G is barely discussed. Second, while questions concerning agenda setting, reach, and engagement have been generally explored, the issue of style as a possible source of influence on diplomatic communication has been neglected. Consequently, existing studies provide a glimpse into the effective strategies that diplomatic institutions can use in conducting public diplomacy over social media, but there is hardly anything known about how world leaders use social media to engage with their diplomatic counterparts. According to Lüfkens (2017), world leaders extensively use social media for various purposes, including fostering relationships with other world leaders and foreign publics. According to many indicators, the most popular social network world leaders use is Twitter. Data from 2018 shows that the US President Donald Trump is the most- followed world leader on Twitter, with Pope Francis close behind. Trump is also considered to be
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